On September 29, 2017, Giannis Antetokounmpo lost his father, Charles, prematurely to a heart attack at the age of 54. In his newly-released documentary, “Giannis: The Marvelous Journey,” the Greek Freak shed light on how that fateful day changed him and how he channeled that grief into his performance. It is a powerful tale of overcoming fear, coping with the unexpected death of his father, and coming out stronger.

Giannis’ fiance, Mariah Riddlespringer, was the one to break the news to Giannis. She was driving when she got the call; she had to turn around and get Giannis from the training facility. “Her hands are shaking, she is not looking me in the eyes. In my head, I’m like, “Who is it, is it my mom or my dad?'” recalled Giannis.

Mariah, with tears rolling down her cheeks, expressed, “It was a really tough day, a really hard experience.” When Giannis reached home, the apartment door was open, and his mom was yelling and screaming in pain while his dad rested on the floor. “Paramedics came, tried to revive my dad and they looked at me and said, ‘There is nothing we can do. Just take him away,'” remembered Giannis. He immediately called his brother, Thanasis, who was in Greece at the time and told him, “He’s heavy. I can’t pick him up.” 

The youngest Antetokounmpo brother, Alex, who was just a teenager, could not even comprehend what was going on. Explaining the inner turmoil, Alex lamented, “He just dropped me off at school, how is he no longer here?”

Veronica, Giannis’ mother, and Charles had been inseparable for over 30 years. Losing her soulmate, her best friend, she felt like she had no one else in this world, even with her children beside her. “I feel like I am alone even when my kids are there, even if they are here with me, I’m alone. They say, ‘You are not alone, we are here for you. Please, mummy, don’t give up,” bemoaned Veronica.

How did Giannis deal with the grief?

The grief of losing a parent left him so devastated that he even considered retiring. However, he had a change of heart and instead used it to fuel his performance. In the first game after the tragic incident, he erupted for 44 points against the Portland Trail Blazers. He kept the game ball and dedicated it to his father. “Hopefully he is seeing us from above and is proud of us,” said Giannis in the post-game interview. This is how his journey to the league MVP began.

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In 2019, he won his first MVP award. During the acceptance speech, he expressed his gratitude to his dad, saying, “I want to thank my dad. Obviously, my dad is not here with me but…” This was just the beginning, as he won back-to-back MVP honors next year in 2020. Then, in 2021, he put Milwaukee back on the map by ending their 50-year championship drought.

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